The present invention relates to office furnishings and the like, and in particular to a workspace display.
Open office plans are well known in the art, and generally comprise large, open floor spaces in buildings that are furnished in a manner that is readily reconfigurable to accommodate the ever changing needs of a specific user, as well as the diverse requirements of different tenants. One arrangement commonly used for furnishing open plans includes moveable partition panels that are detachably interconnected to partition off the open spaces into individual workstations and/or offices, and are generally known in the office furniture industry as "systems furniture". Another arrangement for dividing and/or partitioning open plans utilizes workspace modules which have a free-standing framework supporting a three-sided partition arrangement to form an interior workspace, and a portal opening for user ingress and egress. A workspace module incudes a door partition that is shaped to selectively close the portal opening, and is movably mounted on the framework. The door partition is positioned adjacent one side of the portal opening, such that shifting the door partition from the fully open position to the fully closed position increases the amount of interior space in the workspace to provide both improved freedom of user movement, and a sense of roominess and comfort.
Group problem-solving techniques necessarily involve some degree of interaction between co-workers and interaction with the information of their work, thereby creating the need in furnishings and communications equipment in modern office environments to promote both increased group communications, and also support individual problem-solving. Many types of highly trained "knowledge workers", such as engineers, accountants, computer programmers, and the like, are now being supported in open office settings, instead of conventional private offices, in order to gain increased efficiency of real estate and life cycle costs. Throughout a given work day, an office worker normally oscillates between interaction with others and time spent alone. In addition, the increasing use of computers and electrical communications devices has changed the way in which workers interact with other workers and perform their tasks.
Workspace modules or individual workstations made from partition panel systems may be positioned around an open, group or common workspace to support both individual and group work activities. This arrangement facilitates combined group and individual work activities, while simultaneously maximizing the utilization of floor space. Both the "systems furniture" and the workspace module office arrangements commonly include provisions for computers and conventional telephone communications equipment.
Displays, such as, dry erasable markerboards and/or projectors are also important to support group worker activities. Since knowledge workers typically constitute a major portion of group problem-solving teams, it is important to provide such highly skilled workers with computational and communications devices that promote efficient group and individual work activities. Therefore, there is a need for a projection display system that utilizes vertical surfaces and combines various display functions on a large, easy to view screen that can be integrated into a furniture system, designed to facilitate group and individual tasks while simultaneously maximizing the utilization of existing floorspace.
Various surfaces having a dry erasable surface are known in the art. These surfaces are commonly known as "dry wipe," "whiteboard," or "dry erasable" to refer to a surface that can be marked with dry erasable marker ink, and wiped off from the surface with a dry cloth or eraser. These dry erasable markerboards generally have a high gloss, white surface. Although the high gloss surface facilitates erasability, it is generally not suitable for a projection display screen since the high gloss surface creates an image that may be difficult to view.
One approach, described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,361,164, has been to cover a white, opaque layer with a transparent dry erasable layer on which a bi-directional lenticular surface is embossed. Although this produces a surface that can be used as a dry erasable markerboard and also as a projection display screen, the resulting surface provides a relatively low gain, requiring a higher powered projector to produce an image having sufficient brightness.
Rear projection display screens are commonly used in commercially available televisions and in business conference meeting rooms. However, since the rear, or projection side, of the screen is closed off by the housing of the television, two-sided viewing is not generally possible. These screens may have a surface that is suitable for use as a dry erasable markerboard.
Currently available rear projection display screens normally have a relatively large housing in which the projector is mounted. In addition to limiting the display screen to one-sided viewing, the housing requires substantial floorspace, particularly with the larger display screens. Smaller, desktop CRT computer monitors require desktop space, are sized for individual viewing, and are generally limited to the single function of displaying computer-generated images. Therefore, there was a need for a display screen which utilized vertical surfaces such that the use of floor and desk space is minimized. In addition, it would also be desirable to have a display screen having multi-functional capability for both individual and group activities, including the display of electronically generated images, or hand-written information to thereby eliminate the need for multiple devices to perform these functions.